Call the Midwife

At the age of twenty-two, Jennifer Worth leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in post war Londone(tm)s East End slums. The colorful characters she meets while delivering babies all over Londone"from the plucky, warm-hearted nuns with whom she lives to the woman with twenty-four children who cane(tm)t speak English to the prostitutes and dockers of the citye(tm)s seedier sidee"illuminate a fascinating time in history. Beautifully written and utterly moving, Call the Midwife will touch the hearts of anyone who is, and everyone who has, a mother.

I have watched the PBS series and couldn't get enough. When Season 2 ended, I wanted more. Because of a long commute and several long trips I had the opportunity to listen to this book on CD. It is just as fantastic as the show. It gives more background information about the East End in the late 1950's and several of the characters are more developed then in the PBS show. The book shows us how the East End is changing in the 1950's, as life always does. It was thought provoking how mothers were treated back then and I have had interesting discussions with friends about the right of the child vs the right of the mother, birthing at home vs hospital, etc. I loved listening to this story because of the strong sense of community and family that this book showed. Anyone who has watched the show and wants more, I highly recommend reading or listening to this book.